William frank west



(No Model.)

W. P. WEST,

ELECTRIC IGNITOR.

NO. 500,644. Patented July 4, 1893.

UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM FRANK WEST, OF NEV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T CLEMENT GOULD, OF SAME PLACE.

ELECTRIC IGNITOR.

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 500,644, dated July 4, 1893.

' Application filed February 4, 1893. Serial No. 4601986' (NO mlel'l T0 all whom it may conccrn:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM FRANK WEST, of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Ignitors; and I do hereby declare that the following` is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a ro part of this specification.

The particular object of this invention is to provide an electric ignitor which can be employed successfully with gas engines using naphtha vapor or gas under pressure for power and fuel. In engines of this description it is necessary, on account of the intense heat developed, that the several parts of the ignitor shall be located at a distance from the burner lest they be destroyed and itis also necessary zo that the two electrodes shall move from the same side into the line of theburner and that the two contact points shall be caused to touch and separate at or near said line. For these reasons the usual forms of electric igz 5 nitors, in which one electrode is fixed with its contact point near the line of the burner or in which two electrodes are caused to move toward the line of the burner from opposite sides, are not practically adapted for the special purpose referred to. Accordingly, I have devised an ignitor the parts of whichy are normally entirely outside of the combustion chamber while the electrodes may be caused to move in the same direction into the said Chamber through a single opening in its wall, the contact points touching and separating to produce the spark at or near the line of the burner.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of an ignitor constructed in accordance with the invention, the supporting plate and a portion of the wall of the combustion chamber being shown partly in section. Fig. 2 is afront view of the same, with a portion of the supporting plate broken off. Fig. 3 is a detail view of a portion of the Operating lever.

The wall A of the combustion chamber is formed with an aperture a and on its outer face is secured the plate B which supports the several parts of the ignitor and is formed with two small apertures b, b, which register with the aperture a. A horizontal web b' of the plate B has pivoted thereon, upon a common axisbut independently of each other, two similar elbow levers C and C'. One arm of each lever is substantially straight while the other is bent upon an arc of which the pivot of the lever is the center. Preferably each lever is made of two parts, the one part o being fixed to but insulated from the other part c' while the part c bears a contact pin 02. Each part c is an electrode and is provided near its free extremity with a platinum or other suitable contact point 03, the two points being placed on the proxiinate faces of the electrodes and so disposed with reference to each other as to produce a spark asv the one is moved by the other. Two yielding contact pieces D and D' are fixed to the plate B in line respectively with the contact pins 02 and are connected respectively to the poles of a suitable source of electricity. Springs E and E' are fixed to the plate B to bear against the levers and to hold them normally in the position indicated by full lines in Fig. 1.

In order that the spark may be produced at the proper point it is necessary that the two electrodes shall be moved togetherin the same direction and also that they shall move to some degree with respect to each other. As a convenient means to effect this movement l have shown a differential hand lever F pivoted to the web b' and forked or having two cam faces and f' which are differentiated with respect to each other, as represented by the full and dotted lines in Fig. 1 and by the shaded portions of Fig. 3, and are adapted to effect the required movernents of the two electrodes relatively to each other. The movement of the lever F upon its fulcrum causes the cam face f' to bear against the lever O' and therefore to commence the movement of the latter from the full line position in Fig. 1 into the dotted line position.V The cam face f immediately thereafter comes in contact with the lever O and moves the latter with the lever C' but slightly behind it until both levers have been moved to bring their pins c2 into contact with the respective pieces D and D' thereby connecting the electrodes o, c, with the battery. When the parts have reached this position the heel of the cam IOG face being' nearer tlle fulcrum of the levers than is the heel of the cam face causes tlle level' C to move more rapidly than the level' O' and its contact point c3 to overtake and pass beyond the contact point of the level' C', thus producing a spark and igniting the gas as the electrodes reach the limit of their movement. The handle F is then released and the springs E and E' imnlediately restore the parts to their normal position withdrawing tlle electrodes from the flame.

I do not intend to limit myinvention to the exact arrangement and construction shown in the drawings and described above, as many lnodifications of the arrangelnent shown which will pel'mit the electrodes to be moved in the same direction to the point of ignition will be l'eadily understood.

As snggested above, the improved ignitor is prilnarily intended for use with that class of engines in which naphtha gas under pressure is elnployed both for power and fuel, and ill which the action of the ignitor is required only in starting the engine. The Operating level' has thel'efol'e been shown herein as having a handle to be grasped by the engineer, but however the moving force is applied to said level' the construction of the ignitor as a whole need not be val'ied essentially.

I claim as lny inventionl. In an electric ignitor fol' gas engines, the combination of two electrodes supported to move in the same direetion toward the point of ignition, and means to move said electrodes together and to cause the contact point of one to overtake the contact point of the other, substantially as shown and described.

2. In an electric ignitor for gas engines, the combination of two electl'odes supported to move in the same direction toward the point of ignition, and a level' having diferential cam faces to cause the electrodes to move together and the contact point of one to overtake the contact point of the other, substantially as shown and described.

3. In an electric ignitol' for gas engines, the combination of two elbow-levers pivoted at one end and having each at its free extremity a contact point, and means to move said levers together upon their fulcra and to cause the contact point of one to overtake the contact point of the other, substantially as shown and described.

et. In an electric ignitor for gas engines, the combination of two elbow-levers pivoted at one end and having each at its free end a contact point, and a level' disposed near the fulcrum of said elbow levers and having two differential cam faces to beal' respectively against said elbow-levers, substantially as shown and described.

5. In an electric ignitol' for gas engines, the combination of two electrodes supported to nlove in the same directioll toward the point of ignition, and having each a contact point and a contact pin, yielding contact pieces supported respectively in the line of movement of said pins, and means to move said electrodes together and to cause the contact point of one electrode to overtake the other, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the pl'esenee of two subscl'ibing witnesses.

WILLIAM FRANK WEST.

Vitnesscs:

A. N. J EsBERA, A. WIDDER. 

